Superhuman Nadal pulls off stunning comeback
In an unforgettable marathon final against rival Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal has won his second Australian Open title, making it his 21st grand slam win.
Commentator Jim Courier said his win "re-writes history" as Nadal broke the deadlock of 20 grand slams he shared with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
He is now the only male player to ever win 21 major competitions.
Rod Laver Arena was sent into pandemonium over the win, as he served his comeback win 2-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 7-5.
In his winning speech, the Spanish tennis champ said he felt like he was going to lose when his opponent Medvedev came out swinging, but Nadal wouldn't back down.
"I thought, f***, I am going to lose like in 2012 and 2017. But I just kept fighting. I can lose, he can win, but I can't give up."
The match set the record for the second longest Aussie Open final ever, with the game clocking in at 5 hours and 25 minutes - the longest since the 2012 showdown between Nadal and Djokovic that went for an impressive 5 hours and 53 minutes.
The triumph will go down as one of Nadal's greatest victories, as the win comes less than two months after he thought he would have to retire due to a long-term foot injury.
The win was echoed online, with journalists, sports commentators and fans all chiming in on the historic victory.
Tennis commentator David Law wrote on Twitter, "One of the best Grand Slam finals I've ever seen. One of the greatest, most astonishing sporting accomplishments I've ever seen. Rafael Nadal.
Tennis champion Rennae Stubbs also praised the win, with WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen adding , "We've watched this guy do some absolutely mindblowing things opver the course of his career. Rafael Nadal just topped them all."
“It is 21 for Rafa and he stands alone at the summit,” Todd Woodbridge said in commentary for Channel Nine.
“A remarkable match, a remarkable comeback and a remarkable champion.”
“How do you frame it?” Jim Courier added.
“The guy two months ago didn’t know if he would ever be able to play on the Tour again. He and his team were so concerned about his foot and then he goes and plays an exhibition in Abu Dhabi just to gets some matches and gets COVID in December."
“That guy is super human.”
Image credits: Getty Images